The wish to die

The wish to die and thoughts of killing oneself (suicidal ideation) are a frequent phenomenon among schoolchildren. Recent epidemiological studies have revealed a high prevalence of suicidal ideation in “normal” children between 6-12 years of age. This prevalence falls between 8.9% (Pfeffer, Zuckerman, Plutchik, & Misruchi, 1984) and 32.2% (Bandim, Fonseca, & De Lima, 1997). This percentage may vary according to sex and the characteristics of the academic institution (Viñas & Domènech-Llaberia, 1997). Suicidal ideation is the first link or lowest level of suicidal behavior. It is unlikely that at these ages children may develop suicidal behavior, or that it may intensify and lead to attempted suicide or to suicide itself. Nonetheless, there is sufficient data to verify such behavior at early ages. In our country, for example, there are records of a case of suicide at 6 years of age (Cobo, 1986). In the study by Groholt, Ekeberg, Wichstrom, and Haldorssen (1998), 10.8% of suicides in the Norwegian teenage population were committed by children under 15 years of age. In this group, there were suicides by 8- and 10-year-old children. These data are related to the rate of suicide attempts among children and adolescents. According to Marcelli (1978), out of the total of suicide attempts in the population under 18 years of age, between 10 and 15% are carried out by children. It is precisely during adolescence that both the risk of attempted suicide and suicide increase considerably (Mardomingo, 1995; National Center for Health Statistics, 2000; Pfeffer, 1986). The severity of suicidal ideation lies in its persistence or temporary stability. Some studies (e.g., Pfeffer et al., 1984), seem to indicate that there is some stability in a considerable percentage of cases, specifically 50%, at a 2-year follow-up. Domènech-Llaberia, Canals, and Fernández-Ballart (1992) observed that 27% of girls and 18.4% of boys maintained these ideas at a 3-year follow-up. It seems reasonable to assume from these data that these children, in whom suicidal ideation persists, have a greater probability of developing more serious suicidal behavior when they reach adolescence. If effective prevention programs for schoolchildren were developed, the alarming rates that identify suicide as one of the main causes of mortality among the young would decrease (King, 1999; Pfeffer, 1986). For this purpose, we must first know which risk factors are associated with suicide. Moreover, this information should be gathered from the study of children from a normal school population, who, after all, will be the main target of all the efforts for the prevention of suicide behavior and psychopathology (Flisher, 1999; World Health Organization, 2000). The results from some research (Cotton & Range, 1993) indicate this, as the characteristics of populations with psychiatric pathology and those of school populations do not appear to be totally similar. Most studies agree on the existence of a close relation between depression and suicide (Goldston et al., 1999; Groholt et al., 1998; Groholt, Ekeberg, Wichstrom, & Haldorssen, 2000; Shaffer et al., 1996) and suicidal ideation (De Man & Leduc, 1995; Domènech-Llaberia et al., 1992), EARLY FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH SUICIDAL IDEATION 21 and that this relationship becomes stronger as individuals get older (Mardomingo, 1995; National Center for Health Statistics, 2000; Pfeffer, 1986). Suicidal ideation is a symptom of depression, but many children who meet all the diagnostic criteria of depression do not manifest it. Likewise, not all individuals with suicidal ideation suffer from depression. Carlson and Cantwell’s (1982) research clearly identified three groups of children: children who suffer from depression and suicidal ideation, children who suffer from depression but do not present suicidal ideation, and children with suicidal ideation who do not suffer from depression. However, there seems to be a close relationship between depression and suicidal ideation. From a cognitive perspective, two constructs — hopelessness and self-esteem—are modulating variables of suicidal behavior. These two variables, along with a negative perception of the environment, constitute the three essential elements (negative triad) of Beck’s (1976) cognitive theory of depression. The first, hopelessness, has been seriously considered as one of the best predictors or indicators of the risk of suicidal behavior. Results from different sources (Asarnow & Guthrie, 1989; Cotton & Range, 1996; Kashani, Reid, & Rosenberg, 1989; Morano, Cisler, & Lemerond, 1993) seem to indicate a clear link between hopelessness and suicidal behavior. Furthermore, hopelessness is seen to correlate more consistently with attempted suicide than does depression (Kazdin, French, Unis, Esveldt-Dawson, & Sherick, 1983). However, in some cases, the exact opposite has been reported (Asarnow, Carlson, & Guthrie, 1987). The results for self-esteem are not so clear, although individuals who manifest or act out suicidal behavior are frequently seen to possess lower self-esteem (De Man, Leduc, & Labrèche-Gauthier, 1993; Marciano & Kazdin, 1994). Family environment is a very important factor when analyzing the possible mechanisms that lead to the development of suicidal behavior. Tension and family conflict are identified as risk factors for suicidal behavior in children. When perception of family environment has also been studied, family disorganization, conflict, and lack of control, cohesion, and expressiveness have been observed as common factors in the family backgrounds of children who develop suicidal behavior (Asarnow, 1992; Asarnow et al., 1987; Campbell , Milling, Laughlin, & Bush, 1993). The purpose of this study is to examine whether there are any risk factors associated with suicidal ideation in preadolescent children. We expect to find that the children with suicidal ideation will have more depression and family conflict and lower self-esteem than those who do not present suicidal ideation. Also, in accordance with Carlson and Cantwell (1982), some children will present suicidal ideation in absence of depression. We analyzed various psychological and family variables in a sample of schoolchildren, average age 9 years old. Data was differentiated by sex and compared with other studies of adolescents andwith those of adolescents with severe suicidal behavior.

22 Participants Method We studied two groups of schoolchildren between the ages of 8 and 12, mean age 9 (SD = 0.95). The first group was made up of children with suicidal ideation (20 boys and 14 girls), and the second was a control group (21 boys and 23 girls). These groups were formed on the basis of the results of an epidemiological study of suicidal ideation in school-age children. In the first phase, 181 boys and 180 girls were randomly selected from public and private primary schools in the area of Girona (an area of Catalonia, Spain, with above-average socioeconomic status). For this, we used cluster sampling, with the classroom as the cluster. Stratification was done by geographical location (rural, less than 2,000 inhabitants; semi-urban, between 2,000 and 10,000 inhabitants, and urban, more than 10,000 inhabitants) and school year (third, fourth, and fifth grades). The resulting sample corresponded to 7.38% of the population studied, and participation of the selected students was 98.4%. Instruments Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI; Kovacs, 1983). This instrument is one of the most widely used assessments of depressive symptoms in children between 8 and 17 years of age. It is made up of 27 items, each of which has three possible responses. The child must indicate the one which best describes his or her situation during the previous two weeks. The scores in each item range between 0 and 2, depending on the intensity of the symptom. Thus, the minimal total score is 0 and the maximal score is 54. In this study, we used the Catalan version created by the Psychology Department of the Autonomous University of Barcelona. The psychometric properties of this version, that is, internal consistency (a = .75) and its correlation with other measures of depression (Monreal, 1988), are acceptable. Hopelessness Scale for Children (HSC; Kazdin, et al., 1983). This instrument is a version of Beck, Weissman, Lester, and Trexler’s (1974) Hopelessness Scale, adapted for children. It is made up of 17 items with dichotomic responses, in which those denoting hopelessness score points. This way, a high total score (maximum 17) indicates that the individual holds a negative view of the future. With the authors’ consent, we translated the scale into Catalan and adapted it. Although it does not present a very high internal consistency (a = .58) for the entire population studied, this increases to a = .71 when only the group with depressive symptoms is analyzed (Viñas & Domènech-Llaberia, 1998). Children’s Depression Rating Scale-Revised (CDRS-R; Poznansky et al., 1984). This scale is a semi-structured interview made up of 18 items. Its main purpose is to evaluate the intensity of depression in children between the ages of 6 and 12. From the 18 items that make up the scale, VIÑAS, CANALS, GRAS, ROS, AND DOMÈNECH-LLABERIA 4 assess the behavior of the child during the interview, and the remaining 14 report the child’s affective state. According to symptom severity, the scores of the items range from 1 to 7, except for items 4 (sleep), 5 (appetite), 16 (speech tempo), and 17 (hypoactivity). In these items, the maximal score was 5. The total scale score ranges from 18 (minimum) to 118 (maximum). The Spanish version of CDRS-R employed correlates significantly and positively with other measures of depression, such as CDI and ESDM, and it is a reliable scale: a = .87 (Domènech-Llaberia & Polaino, 1990). It was basically used to evaluate the intensity of depressive symptoms, and to corroborate suicidal ideation previously detected with the CDI. Culture-Free Self-Esteem Inventory for Children (Culture- Free SEI; Battle, 1981). This self-esteem inventory is made up of 30 items, each with two possible responses. Scores vary between 0 and 30. High scores indicate that the child has a good opinion of him- or herself. We used the Spanish version of form B (an experimental translation carried out by a pychologist and reviewed by a bilingual linguist), which has good internal consistency (a = .79) and a significant correlation at the 1-year follow-up, r = .71 (Arrufat, 1997). Family Environment Scale (FES; Moos & Moos, 1981). The Spanish adaptation of this scale only contemplates one of the three applications of the original scale. This version records how individuals feel about their family environment. Although the scale is designed to be used with adolescents and adults, it may also be administered to children. It is made up of ten subscales, grouped into three areas of family interaction: relationships, development, and stability. However, in our research, only four subscales were used: Cohesion (CO: the extent to which members of a family understandand help each other), Expressiveness (EX: the extent to which members of a family are allowed to act freely and express their feelings), Conflict (CT: the extent to which anger, aggression and conflict among members may be freely and openly expressed), and Control (CN: the extent to which development of family life is bound by rules and established procedures). Each item is rated true or false, with the scores in each of the subscales ranging from 0 to 9 (maximum score). The Spanish version shows high reliablity, with test-retest correlations in the four subscales used ranging from .73 (expressivenes) to .86 (cohesion). Alpha coefficients ranged between .67 (control) and .78 (cohesion). Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC; Wechsler, 1949). We administered the Catalan version of this scale. Because of the excessively long administration time required, and the fact it should be applied individually, we decided to use only three of its subscales: cubes, comprehension, and similarities. The typical scores for these three scales vary between 1 and 20 (M = 10, SD = 3). The internal consistency coefficients of the Catalan version employed were .57 (comprehension), .83 (similarities), and .87 (cubes).